The Beginning of the End
by wistfulxdreamer
Summary: When Severus Snape felt the mark on his skin burn during the third task, he knew what it meant and the dread that filled his body was consuming. He knew what he had to do, he knew it meant it was the start of a new war, and he didn't know if he'd survive it.


Severus Snape checked his watch, frowning slightly. There was still two hours before the final task of the Triwizard Tournament, and Severus couldn't wait for it to be over. It was a Saturday, which meant he could enjoy a couple more hours of peace before joining the rest of the school to watch the task. None of the Champions were in Slytherin, so he didn't have to greet the families arriving to support them. He wasn't even picked as one of the teachers to patrol the task. His only job would be to sit in the stands with everyone else and spectate. _Not that there's anything to spectate,_ Snape thought irritably as he cleaned his potions beakers with a wave of his wand. _All we're going to see are the champions entering the maze and the winner coming out with the cup. _He glanced around his classroom to see if there was anything else that needed to be cleaned, but as usual, it was immaculate. Severus always cleaned up at the end of every class to avoid having large jobs on the weekend, but today he had nothing else to do. With a sigh, he decided to go up to the Great Hall to eat lunch with the rest of the teachers before the Task began.

Lunch was much busier and louder than usual, and there were far more courses. He had to admit, having foreign visitors did have its perks. The food was absolutely delicious and he was regularly getting to try food he'd never even heard of before.

As he surveyed the room, he noticed almost the whole Weasley clan were sitting at the Gryffindor table. _Must be here for Potter_, Severus thought to himself as he spooned dauphinois potato onto his plate. _Potter. What a truly irksome student. He tried to avoid looking at Potter as much as possible, because he had her eyes. He didn't deserve her eyes. He didn't deserve to have any part of her because he wasn't good enough. Lily was kind, clever, a natural at Potions and she was very sweet natured. Potter was the complete opposite, his father's son in every way, and Severus detested him for it. It wasn't fair. Looking into those green eyes used to mean that he was with someone he could finally be himself around. Someone who he could let down his walls for, someone he didn't need to have barriers up against. _

These days, it was the complete opposite. Severus needed even more barriers to protect himself from looking into Potter's eyes. Potter was just like his father. He could just see James Potter wheedling his way into the Twizard Tournament as an underage student, flaunting his Quidditch skills as a way of getting the golden egg, and stealing from the Potions storeroom as a way of succeeding in the lake task. And now, thanks to James Potter and his typical Gryffindor ways, Lily was gone and he himself was left with the job of watching over her son, a job that was hard enough without the brat getting himself involved with all sorts of mischief each year!

Severus seethed silently over his food and averted his gaze instead to Slytherin table. The Durmstrang students were sitting with his house, and they all looked to be excitededly chatting about the task. He sensed someone looking at him, and he guessed correctly that it was Karkaroff from across the staff table. Karkaroff looked scared, and he rubbed his arm whilst making eye contact with Severus. Severus' eyes flashed furiously as he looked away. _What is wrong with him? This is becoming a far too common occurrence, revealing his mark in front of people! _Severus did of course understand Karkaroff's worry. He was also afraid of how clear the mark was becoming. He hadn't seen it this clear since the Dark Lord was last active and this was something Severus was trying not to think about too often. Thankfully, Dumbledore stood up and raised his arms in a bid for silence, blocking Severus from view of Karkaroff, and distracting him from his thoughts. Dumbledore told the Champions to head down to the stadium with Bagman, then told the remaining students to follow their Head of House to the stands. Severus rose, beckoned for the Slytherin prefects to follow and heard them ordering the house down to the stands_. _

Fifteen minutes later, Severus was seated and ready for the task to begin. Most of Slytherin house were supporting Diggory with a few supporting Krum (notably the Slytherins who disliked Potter the most), and instead of the usual sea of green and silver in the Slytherin stands, there was yellow, red and black. He could hear them chanting and stamping their feet as the champions walked out in front of the stands. Severus didn't join in, but nodded at Dumbledore as he lead Diggory and Potter to the entrance of the maze. Bagman was announcing to the crowd that Diggory and Potter were in the lead and would be entering first, then Krum and Delacour. Severus clapped along with the rest of the crowd as Bagman blew his whistle to signal the start of the final task. Potter and Diggory both entered, then Krum, and then Delacour. _And now we all get to stare at the hedges in hope that something exciting happens,_ Severus thought to himself. The atmosphere soon died down, and the crowd began to talk amongst themselves. Severus could see Hagrid, McGonagall, Moody and Flitwick patrolling the maze in search for red sparks. He settled back in his seat and listened to the Hogwarts band playing as they waited for the first champion to exit the maze.


End file.
